Spencer Smith
Introduction On December 21st 2007 Spencer Smith died. One week later he rose from the grave. Spencer was given a second chance. He was returned to the world of the living in the form of a ghost, a unique ghost. A ghost with the power to live. Spencer from that day on, though not without falling, decided to see life as a gift and live it as best he could. He is enrolled in The Academy shortly after discovering his powers as to not alarm his hometown that he had rose from the dead. He begins life anew hoping to hone his skills as a ghost and put his new power to good use. Background Spencer Smith, a 16 year old African American student, is at the point in life where ones choices will dictate their future. Spencer has grown up to be a quiet, caring but seemingly unmotivated boy. He is at a crossroad. His paths are of the heart or of the mind. He views his world at large to be broken, immoral and self-destructive, but feels powerless to stop it. He has given up hope of a better tomorrow and fallen victim to his own self-destructive nature. His social life is plagued with harassment from peers, adults, and family alike. His father, a bum, seems to be the picture his extended family and family friends have painted for him. His mother, constantly struggling to avoid this preconception from coming to fruition, does what she can to provide everything she feels he needs, but at the same time deprives him of what he really needs. He grows up feeling powerless to change his situation because of the lack of support and constant hounding from his family. At school he is an outcast. The “black” groups at school consider him white, and the “white groups" consider him “Emo”. He is always a target of a “good laugh”, at his expense of course. Some of the friends he did have left him for popularity or other shallow reasons, but the few he still does are good to him. One of his friends that he considers to have “sold out” he still has a crush on and her actions constantly plague him. His only salvation comes from the volunteer work he does at a local retirement home. There he feels he can be a different version of himself, he feels he can really help these elderly people, giving him his only sense of pride. His favorite patron is an elderly man full of stories and wisdom. Spencer feels his life is somehow connected to this person, and once the man dies Spencer’s hope leaves with him. Not long after the man’s passing Spencer finds that the retirement home is being shut down and all the residents are being spread out and relocated to different homes all out of Spencer’s reach. Spencer is capable of great things, all of us are. What often separates the successful from the not so successful is knowing that you can do great things. Spencer falls victim to this self-restraint and is on a path that’s told him he can never be anything great, that he can’t do anything to change what’s bad around him, that there is no hope, and that he can’t have what he wants. After a life changing experience in his case a life ending experience he finds himself with the power to follow a different path. A path his hearts been telling him to follow, a path of change, hope, and unimaginable reward. On the way home from his last day working at the retirement home he steps out from between two parked cars and is hit by a car. The driver quickly speeds away leaving the poor boy for dead. Spencer's time in the afterlife is foggy to him now but about a week after his death Spencer awoke to find him buried. In his panic he discovered his ability to "phase" through solid matter. Freeing himself he is confronted by a started grave keeper who he unintentionally comes into contact with and possessing. After a period of confusion he frees himself from the grave keepers mind accidentally taking a part of it with him. Returning home to his shocked parents confused and emotionally distraught he exhibits strange behaviors that his parents soon pick up on. With no idea how to deal with all of the changes that have occurred in the recent month it is agreed upon that Spencer attend The Academy in order to sort things out. Personality and Appearance Spencer has an easy going personality, he believes stress kills and trys to avoid it. His laid back attitude made him a terrible student and socialy awkward. Before he died he would spend a lot of his time in a nearby retirement home doing volunteer work. He enjoyed having a place to go where he could be helpful and "really learn" something. Spencer faced many dissapointments in his life such as the closing down of this retirement home following the death of Spencer's favorite patron who he called "Gramps" but he still manages to keep an uplifting and approachable attitude. His time at The Academy haas really done a lot to uplift his spirits. Being in a new place, surrounded by kids who have gone through similar or tougher hardships than he really helps him to keep his life in perspective. He is also relieved to be free of the burdens that hung from him like chains at home. During a strange weekend at The Academy when a purple gas was released causing the school to go crazy Spencer found himself to be unaffected by the gas. The weekend allowed him to meet and open himself up to a fellow student who he had been fond of since his arrival at The Academy. Malana Perez was that student and after being inspired by Malana's strength to combat the Haze, he was able to find the strength to ask her out. They have since been dating and growing ever closer to one another connected by a special kiss and trust in one another. Deeper into his character you find a boy on a journey. A journey all of us take as we ask, whats the meaning of life and is it even worth it? A boy given a second chance to live and a chance to discover the answers, Spencer personifies that question. Currently very happy with how things are looking for him he understands that love is a big part of that answer. One can only hope that his struggle and the burdens of his past can be overcome and that he finds his own answer as we find ours. Powers and Abilities Spencer is an anomaly among Ghosts. He is being described as a stage 4 ghost, the only one of its kind, by other powerful ghosts. It is said his true power lies in his life rather than in his death and it is usually his ability to become mortal that wins the day. However, he does possess the abilities of a stage 2 ghost and is capable of reaching stage 3. Stage One - All Ghosts once becoming conscious of themselves, have the ability to become invisible, and intangible at will. With practice and effort they can even possess the living on a scale relative to their own versus their target's power. Stage Two - A ghost gains the ability to interact with the living world. A ghost must become fully conscious of the difference between the worlds of limbo and of the living. Once aware they can summon the strength to partially or fully make contact with the human world. It is in this stage that they can form artificial Ectoplasmic bodies and a ghost will usually learn to use a EctoEnergy based means of transportation like flight or teleportation. Spencer learns Flight. Stage Three - Only a handful of ghost will reach this stage. A ghost at this point will be capable of learning at least one special trait that is unique to them. It is developed from their personalities growth in limbo and their getting closer to the other side. It is usually the greatest strength a ghost possesses. Spencer learns The Death Rattle. Death Rattle - Spencer is capable of producing a blood curtling hiss that forces everyone within its reach to experience fear. Be it their own fear or the fears of those around it is enough to drop a man to his knees or even scare him into seeing death as his only escape. Spencer is highly opposed to using this power when he first gains it because of its dark nature. Stage Four - Spencer is the only known stage four ghost. At this point a ghost will usually "move on" and in Spencer's rare case he moved back to the world of the living. His "living dead" body made of ectoplasm isn't restricted by normal means of survival such as air, food, and water it simply runs on the EctoEnergy it produces on its own. Weaknesses Spencer's body is susceptible to mortal means of damage. He needs to refuel his EctoEnergy reserves as they diminish with every use of his powers. He does so most commonly through normal means such as eating and breathing although he can "live" without them. While intangible he is still susceptable to Electrical, Psionic, Mystical, and Magnetism attacks. Possession is risky, if the victim of a possession attempt overcomes Spencer while he is inhabiting their body, Spencer could be forced from conscious existence and thus completely erased from existance. Alternate Universes Trivia Notes Character Biography Category:Characters Category:Alpha